In classrooms across Oklahoma, teachers are transforming how students learn by blending creativity with critical thinking. Through innovative STEAM education initiatives, like robotics and cross-curricular lessons, educators are not just sparking curiosity—they’re laying a stronger foundation for reading literacy. These efforts are helping students regain ground lost during the pandemic, proving that the right tools and strategies can inspire a lifelong love of reading and learning.
Engaging the whole child through STEAM
Amy Fullbright spent nearly two decades as a classroom teacher, so she knows what it takes to get and hold the attention of young learners. Fullbright, who oversees STEAM education for Oklahoma City Public Schools, focuses her efforts on engaging the whole child through a combination of science, technology, engineering, arts and math.
“You’ve got to get the kids engaged, and you do that by offering them creative ways to learn,” said Fullbright. “In our STEAM classes, we teach collaboration, we teach communication, we teach critical thinking skills.”
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BELLE ISLE ENTERPRISE MIDDLE SCHOOL STUDENTS DISCUSS HOW TO CRAFT A SELF-PROPELLED ROCKET USING RECYCLED MATERIALS AS PART OF AN ENGINEERING UNIT IN SCIENCE CLASS.
District teachers are generating reading literacy, classroom interest and hands-on learning with the help of Sphero BOLTs — robotic balls designed to help students learn the curriculum along with robotics and coding skills.
All OKCPS elementary students see a STEAM education teacher regularly in addition to their grade-level instructor and are equipped with iPads to help them operate the robots.
“It’s a more creative tool; it allows for more student choice in their learning and their creating,” said Fullbright, who works with 31 elementary schools and 12 middle schools as the OKCPS STEAM coordinator. “It’s reinforcing general education concepts, but they’re getting to do it with a robot or some other products that we have in the classroom.”
Robotics is one of the innovative ways the 34,000-student district has countered the negative effects of the pandemic, which began disrupting learning in early 2020.
“We had students who had to leave the classroom, go to at-home learning and of course that’s not the best learning environment for students to reach mastery of any skill,” said Fullbright. “I think just making up for lost time is what our teachers are really working on, meeting their students where they’re at, not necessarily grade-level wise, but where they need to be.”
Enhancing literacy through STEAM education
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OKCPS SUPERINTENDENT DR. JAMIE POLK AND STUDENT LEADERSHIP COUNCIL MEMBER AND STAR SPENCER HIGH SCHOOL SENIOR ROBYN SHIRLEY READ TO ELEMENTARY SCHOOL STUDENTS AS PART OF READ ACROSS OKCPS DAY.
Critical to reading literacy are the early childhood years, when kids learn how letters make sounds, sounds make words and words make sentences.
“We do struggle with high illiteracy rates, especially in our state,” said Stephanie Hinton, OKCPS’ early childhood director. “We have really been focused on ensuring that our teachers have access to high-quality training on the teaching of reading.”
Hinton works with teachers to ensure they know their reading literacy progressions and where to start if “kiddos are below the expectation,” even when they enroll in school for the first time.
“Where do you start if their vocabulary isn’t what we expect for a typical 4-year-old?” asked Hinton. “And teaching those very practical skills that they can use in the classroom to build vocabulary, for example.”
Along those lines, the district has started an initiative with the Oklahoma City Public Schools Foundation called Read Across OKCPS, which provide reading challenges that are no longer limited to school breaks.
“Those sorts of little engaging activities tie into that, building children’s literacy rates,” said Hinton. “But it also builds in that attendance incentive: ‘Come to school, we’re doing these fun things to support your learning.’”
STEAM principles are useful when teaching young students how to read, Fullbright said.
“STEAM is science, technology, engineering, arts and math, and you have to be able to read to do all of those things, so we talk about the importance of reading,” explained Fullbright. “When they get a robot and they’re learning how to program a robot, they need to know how to read directions to assemble that robot. And then they need to have a little bit of background knowledge or figure out how to code, so then they’ve got to go have that reading instruction.”
Investing in the future
In Norman, there is a similar focus on cross-curricular learning — incorporating multiple academic disciplines into a single lesson or course — which STEAM principles provide.
“It’s our job at the elementary level to really help kids understand what they are capable of doing, the possibilities, what they believe they can do,” said Kristi Gray, director of Gifted and Talented and Advanced Placement programs for Norman Public Schools. “It’s our job to help them see all those possibilities that are out there and to help them make sure they believe they’re capable of doing any sort of career path they want.”
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MCKINLEY ELEMENTARY SCHOOL STUDENTS IN NORMAN PARTICIPATE IN STEAM EDUCATION ACTIVITIES.
The Norman Public School Foundation recently donated $500,000 to equip new STEAM Labs for each of the district’s 17 elementary schools.
A local school bond issue approved by voters will fund construction of the labs. The foundation’s donation will cover the cost of curriculum, equipment and other learning tools.
“With this partnership between the school district and the foundation, we’re not just building labs, we’re building futures,” said Alesha Leemaster, the foundation’s executive director. “The Foundation Labs will ignite curiosity in our students, preparing them for the challenges of tomorrow.”
Another way the Norman school district is preparing older students to begin visualizing their futures is the Oklahoma Aviation Academy, which meets in portable buildings at the Max Westheimer Airport in Norman.
“Schools like this are encouraging kids to get involved in industry, to pick a passion at a younger age,” said Terry Adams, the academy’s director. “We’re a STEAM academy that’s themed around aviation and aerospace.“
Construction on a 113,000-square-foot facility that will hold 600 students is scheduled to begin in January. Currently, 240 high school students are taking classes.
“The biggest challenge is recruiting, creating your curriculum and your pathways, and then recruiting kids that want to be a part of that,” said Adams.
Literacy gains
Administrators from both school districts credit the emergence of STEAM education for “slow and steady” academic gains, particularly in reading literacy among young readers.
“When you’re trying to reach a goal it’s better to take small steps than (make) huge gains,” said Fullbright. “Sometimes it’s hard to see when you’re in the middle of the hard work what our principals and our teachers are doing. When we sit down and look at data, even though it might just be a one or two percentile gain, they’re still gains. So, I think we’re making progress on our reading scores. They’re slow and steady, and as you know, slow and steady wins the race.”
Editor’s note: This article marks the beginning of the series What’s Right With Our Schools, highlighting the innovative and inspiring programs shaping education in the Oklahoma City metro. Each installment will explore a different theme, showcasing how educators, administrators and communities are coming together to create meaningful opportunities for students.
